FRISCO, Texas – Over the course of his nine-year career in Dallas, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has unequivocally earned the role as one of being one of, if not the most influential voice in the locker room.
This offseason, the Cowboys lost some of their other veteran leaders in Jourdan Lewis and DeMarcus Lawrence, leaving openings for new players to step into their shoes.
"I almost don't want to say one because I want to challenge them," Prescott said when asked who he wanted to see step up at the Children's Cancer Fund gala on Friday.
"There's a lot of slates at a lot of positions. Obviously, Micah Parsons, you've got CeeDee Lamb, you've got guys that you can name, but there's a lot of the guys that have an opportunity to step up."
Amongst Prescott, Lamb and Parsons, only one is heading into the final year of his rookie deal: Micah Parsons.
Parsons' contract extension has been a major talking point of Dallas' offseason, amplified after Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones alluded to wanting to see more from Parsons from a leadership standpoint before offering the All-Pro a new deal.
"In every aspect of Micah, he's got great potential to do more," Jones said at the NFL's league meetings. "Every aspect, whether it be in my mind physically or from the standpoint of physically, he has a lot of potential and he is so capable mentally that he could make us all follow him a little bit."
"I think he's that kind of individual and that kind of person. But I will tell you that those are the kinds of things that I want to personally have total and complete satisfaction that I've got a commitment from him, and that I can see that it's not just contract talk."
Prescott said that he and Parsons have spoken in the locker room about his leadership role and that the talk would stay there, but he, like Jones, is high on Parsons' ceiling as a voice for the team.
"Very confident in [Micah Parsons] and what he can do," Prescott said. "Who he is and what he wants to is as important as anything. And that's in being a leader."
The first step to being a good leader is being present, and Parsons stuck to his word on Monday by attending the first day of the Cowboys’ voluntary workouts with other key players like Prescott to bring in the beginning of the Brian Schottenheimer era.
The two have also spoken about Parsons' contract situation, a spot that Prescott is very familiar with after long negotiations finally resulted in his record-breaking four-year, $240 million extension heading into the 2024 season. Prescott offered his advice on the matter, with an emphasis on keeping spirits high.
"I don't have the full answer for it or I think all of mine would've been done a lot earlier than they were," Prescott said with a laugh. "For him, just stay positive. Understand and make sure that his team knows what he wants and what he believes."
Jerry Jones and the Cowboys have made it clear what they want from Parsons before the extension, and for the most part, Jones said the two sides have agreements set on parameters of the deal.
Now, it's a matter of when, likely not if, Jones has seen what he needs to see to sign the check.
